"Vygotsky understood that
all learning is social  that we don't actually end up
doing most of our learning all by ourselves in our own heads;
that we work with others, we assist one another to learn. Teachers
can help students learn by consciously teaching within their
zone of proximal development  right in that area where
they're ready to learn and providing assistance, or having other
students provide assistance in that social context."
Linda Darling-Hammond

Key Questions:

How do people learn in social contexts?

How can teachers develop communities of learning?

Learning Objectives:

Assisted performance and
the "zone of proximal development" –
Teachers will understand how they can identify students'
levels of proficiency and readiness for a given task and
target assistance accordingly.

Strategies for fostering
communication – Teachers will understand
the importance of language, communication, and interaction
in learning. Teachers will consider several specific teaching
strategies to foster and guide communication in the classroom,
including the role of questioning, group work, managed discourse,
and reciprocal teaching.

Social contexts and learning communities
– Teachers will recognize that when students work
collaboratively to assist one another and take on expert
roles, their learning is strengthened, reinforced, and refined.
Teachers will consider strategies they can use to build
learning communities.

Video
Program

Based on Lev Vygotsky's work, this episode
explores how learning relies on communication and interaction
with others. The episode features two teachers, Yvonne
Scott, a fifth grade teacher at San Francisco Community
School and Avram Barlowe, a ninth through twelfth grade
teacher at The Urban Academy in New York City. Tufts
University professor David Elkind, Yale University professor
James P. Comer, and University of California at Santa
Cruz professor Roland Tharp provide expert commentary.